Development of environmental pillar in the context of circular economy assessment: Baltic Sea Region case

Abstract

Circular Economy (CE) is an economic approach which aims to save the environment by eliminating waste and efficiently using resources by applying recycle, reuse, repair, remanufacturing and recycling strategies. The purpose of the article is to propose a concept of measurement the development of Environmental pillar in the context of Circular Economy, apply and provide empirical evidence based on the data of Baltic Sea Region countries. The research augmented for the analysis of Circular Economy which includes assessment model creation. The multi-criteria decision methods MULTIMOORA and TOPSIS were used to assess the development of Environmental pillar of Circular Economy in Baltic Sea Region. Results are useful to add to theoretical building and evaluate the Environmental aspect in the concept of Circular Economy.

Is Knowledge of Circular Economy, Pro-Environmental Behavior, Satisfaction with Life, and Beliefs a Predictor of Connectedness to Nature in Rural Children and Adolescents? A Pilot Study

“…These results emphasize the important role of education involving CE in the promotion of sustainable behaviors and pro-sustainable citizenship among children and adolescents to foster well-being, as reflected in the objectives of the 2030 Agenda [7] and reported by Rajapaksa et al [20]. The requisite balance between knowledge and the social pillars of CE can be achieved through education [5,48], which also contributes to the development of responsible citizenship in children and adolescents with suitable and internalized knowledge and beliefs related to CE [19,21].…”

“…This scale is widely used as a measure of judgments of subjective well-being and it consists of five items (e.g., "In most ways my life is close to my ideal" and "If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing"). The level of agreement was indicated on a five-point Likert scale that ranged from "totally disagree" (1) to "totally agree" (5). The final score for satisfaction with life was taken to be the sum of the responses to all questions and ranged from 5 to 25, where higher scores indicate greater satisfaction with life.…”

“…Knowledge on circular economy. This questionnaire consists of 31 items that evaluate knowledge of key aspects of the circular economy on a scale that ranges from "nothing" (1) to "totally known" (5). Specifically, 21 items were developed ad hoc (e.g., "climate change", "ecosystem", and "sustainable development"), and 10 items were taken from Almeida et al [47] (e.g., "I am aware of the repercussions of my way of life on the planet" and "The media encourages consumption").…”

“…This concept has evolved to the notion of circular economy (CE) in the last few years [2,3]. These authors agree that the three main pillars of sustainable development-environmental, economic, and social-are combined in the circular economy paradigm [4,5]. Nonetheless, Kirchehherr et al [6], in a literature review, emphasize that the term "circular economy" is frequently depicted as "reduce, reuse, recycle" and it is rarely highlighted that CE necessitates a systemic shift.…”

“…Although knowledge of the environment is prioritized over the social pillar of CE in some countries [5], in the context of CE they both should be balanced. Education does not involve only content or information, but also awareness [18], sensitization and citizenship activation, and pro-environmental behavior [19].…”